Jimmy Fallon to replace Jay Leno in 2014

This Jan. 13, 2013, file photo shows Jay Leno, host of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," left, and Jimmy Fallon, host of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" backstage at the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif. Leno and Jimmy Fallon poked fun at the late-night rumors swirling around them in a music video that aired between their back-to-back NBC shows on Monday, April 1. In a spoof of the romantic ballad "Tonight" from "West Side Story," Leno, who was backstage at the "Tonight" show on the West Coast, and Fallon, in his "Late Night" office in Manhattan, serenaded each other by cellphone. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, file)

Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

Published: Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at 12:45 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at 12:45 p.m.

“The Tonight Show” will begin a new era in February when Jimmy Fallon succeeds Jay Leno as host of the most storied and successful program in late-night television.

NBC plans to announce on Wednesday its plan to install Mr. Fallon as the show's sixth host at the conclusion of the network's coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics from Sochi, Russia. NBC also is to confirm reports that it plans to shake up the axis of the television industry by moving the show from its longtime home in Los Angeles to its birthplace, New York.

The announcement comes after weeks of news media reports that the changes were imminent and speculation about behind-the-scenes friction between NBC and Mr. Leno. Tensions between the two stretch back to Mr. Leno's first departure from “Tonight” in 2009 and the tumultuous transition to Conan O'Brien that followed. That move ended with Mr. O'Brien leaving the network after nine weeks on the show and Mr. Leno resuming his role as host.

But Mr. Leno said in an interview: “The main difference between this and the other time is I'm part of the process. The last time the decision was made without me. I came into work one day and — you're out.” This time around “there really aren't any complications like there were the last time,” he added. “This time it feels right.”

Creating that feeling was the stated aim of Steve Burke, the chief executive of NBCUniversal, who took a lead role in the current change effort to ensure that Mr. Leno would receive full respect for his contributions to the network.

“Clearly our goal has been to make this a smooth transition,” Mr. Burke said in a telephone interview. “Jay deserves to be treated like someone who has done a wonderful thing for our company for two decades.”

To underscore that commitment Mr. Burke contacted Mr. Leno late last month to try to quell a dispute between Mr. Leno and Robert Greenblatt, the top NBC entertainment executive in Los Angeles. Mr. Greenblatt had irritated the host by questioning why he was making barbed jokes about the network's ratings. After the incident Mr. Leno and his executive producer, Debbie Vickers, began to feel isolated from NBC's West Coast management.

Mr. Burke called Mr. Leno on March 20 and expressed concern about the speculation surrounding his status. Mr. Burke flew to Los Angeles the following Sunday and met for an hour with Mr. Leno and Ms. Vickers at the “Tonight” offices in Burbank. He assured Mr. Leno that he wanted him to feel comfortable with the transition plan, and that the host could stay on to the last day of his contract next September if that was his choice.

Mr. Leno said he told Mr. Burke: “I appreciate that, but it's not really necessary. And I don't want to make it harder for Jimmy. I want to hand off something that's going to make it easier.”

Mr. Leno said he suggested, “If we really want to give him a good send-off, how about after the Olympics?” He said the Winter Games in February would give NBC the chance to promote the new host to big audiences and avoid more competitive start-up times like the summer. “ ‘The Tonight Show' was No. 1 when I got it,” Mr. Leno said. “I've kept it No. 1 one for about 90 percent of my term here, and I would like to see Jimmy keep it at No. 1, which I'm sure he will.”

Mr. Fallon, meanwhile, was waiting for the smoke to clear. His contract for his own NBC show, “Late Night,” had two years left to run, taking him into 2015. He decided to concentrate on his show, stepping back and allowing Mr. Leno and NBC to decide on a plan. He said he never wanted any part of pushing anyone to do anything. “I just kind of wanted to keep doing my job well,” he said.

Amid the overheated rumors of the past month, Mr. Fallon said he and Mr. Leno talked frequently and made sure they remained on friendly terms. “I have nothing but respect for Jay,” Mr. Fallon said. “If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have a show to be taking over.”

Lorne Michaels, Mr. Fallon's executive producer and someone who is often at the center of NBC late-night maneuvers, said Mr. Leno had been completely gracious toward Mr. Fallon. “What has been key to this transition has been the absolute consideration for everyone's feelings by all involved,” Mr. Michaels said. “It has been a transparent process.”

What was quietly set early on, though, was the decision to move of the show back to New York. Mr. Fallon had spoken with NBC and Mr. Michaels about his desire to stay in New York if “Tonight” should fall to him. Mr. Burke liked the idea.

“It starts from who Jimmy is,” he said. “Jimmy is a New York guy, and the idea of having a show that is in the city Jimmy has always lived in and has Jimmy's sensibility made sense.”

Mr. Michaels, who has been producing late-night television at NBC's headquarters in 30 Rockefeller Center since he created “Saturday Night Live” in 1975, endorsed the idea. “There's no place in the world better to do a show than 30 Rock,” he said. “I know that because I do one every week.”

Mr. Leno said he had concluded on his own that his current contract would likely be his last for “The Tonight Show,” though that point was unspoken at the time he signed. He did not deny that he takes pride in his long success at “Tonight,” which often came in the face of persistent critics and doubters.

“I'm glad I've kept it No. 1,” Mr. Leno said. “When I started people said, ‘Oh the only reason you're winning is because of ‘ER,' or ‘The only reason you're winning is because Hugh Grant came on and said that one thing.' Well, at least now I can say the only reason we're winning is cause we're winning.”

Mr. Leno will be 64 in 2014. After leaving “Tonight,” he said he expects to be “back on the road, being a comedian again.”

It is a life Mr. Leno has never really left, one he shares with his wife, Mavis, who frequently travels with him. “I know what my priorities are,” he said. “I have the same friends from high school. I have had the same wife for 33 years. When times are good, you have fun. When times are bad, you put your head down and work.”

His strong belief in just doing the work is one reason some who have worked with him suggested he could never step away from the nightly quest to tell a great monologue joke. But he dismissed suggestions that he would seek out another television show — at least for now.

“There are a lot of things to do,” Mr. Leno said. “I've done this job for a long time and I really enjoy it. Would I do it again? Believe me, the phone's not ringing off the hook. It will be nice if people seem interested. But I'll let it sit where it is.”

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